For a person, everything unexplored has always been of great interest. And the depths of the sea keep so many secrets that more than one generation of scientists will be provided with work.
But there are points on the map that are not just covered with a veil of secrecy, but are the main theme of mystical stories.
One of these places - the Mariana Trench or the gutter - is a typical relief element of the continental-ocean transitional zones. In such places, there is a lowering of the ocean floor, which in shape is a narrow long hollow. The deepest gutters are the Pacific.
The Mariana Islands gave the name to one of the deep-sea ocean trenches with a length of two and a half thousand kilometers. It differs by a flat bottom, the width of which is 1-5 kilometers, with steep slopes of a V-shaped. The maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is approximately 11 kilometers. This is the deepest point of the entire oceans. It is more likely an abyss or an abyss than a hollow.
What else is known to man about this mysterious place? The exploration of the Mariana Trench began in the 19th century, when the Challenger ship with the members of the English expedition on board set off to measure the Pacific depths. In the gutter area is the oldest of the sea bottoms in the world. It is with this that the depth of the Mariana Trench is connected. In 1960, the Trieste bathyscaphe, with two researchers on board, plunged into the deepest part of the basin - the Challenger abyss. This dive became a journey into the secret of the deep sea, since the relief of the gutter was completely unexplored. The risk was great. His contribution to the study of this issue was made by Hollywood filmmaker James Cameron, who, as the third person in the world who conquered the Mariana Trench, conducted research and gained a lot of new invaluable information.
The inhabitants of the Mariana Trench require a separate discussion. Back in 1958, an expedition of Soviet scientists proved the existence of life at a depth of seven thousand meters. Prior to this, it was believed that it exists no further than six thousand. By the way, this expedition established that the maximum depth of the Mariana Trench is eleven thousand twenty-two meters. As for living organisms, their study is carried out by underwater vehicles made of materials of high strength, they are automatically piloted at a depth. The video cameras with which these devices were equipped recorded living organisms (whole colonies) below the seven thousand meters mark. In what conditions do these one and a half meter worms live, unidentified creatures two meters long with a soft body, mutated octopuses, sea stars? In complete darkness, the absence of algae, at low temperatures and monstrous hydrostatic pressure. Under such conditions, all living organisms are distinguished by a truly awesome appearance, and they feed mainly on bacteria.
The Mariana Trench is located in the place where the tectonic fault passed, in which the Pacific plate bent and partially went under the Philippine. But since there is no strong pressure from one tectonic plate to another, scientists were sure that earthquakes in this zone were impossible. But today, confidence is significantly reduced. This is due to two earthquakes that occurred on the island of Sumatra and in Japan in 2004 and 2011.
The depths of the Mariana Trench keep so inexplicable that ocean scientists will for many years try to open the veil of secrecy over this part of the Pacific Ocean. This was once again confirmed by the director from Hollywood, who recently became a researcher. Having descended to a depth of eleven kilometers, he photographed many interesting things.